Thursday, March 13, 2008

If I can give over a moment to dumbstruck admiration, here's Obama on race as a campaign issue:

Obama said some voters might favor or disfavor him because he is black, just as some might favor or disfavor Clinton because she is female.

However, he said, "the overwhelming majority of Americans are going to make these decisions based on who they think will be the best president. I have absolute confidence that if I'm doing my job, if I'm delivering my message, then there are very few voters out there that I can't win."

"If I'm not winning them over," he said, "then it's my fault."

If I'm not winning them over then it's my fault. Is there a more pitch-perfect way to diffuse the question of whether his appeal is too narrow? He has put the ball back in the voter's court and challenged us to be as mature, as post-racial, as detached from the passions of identity politics as he is proving to be. He is challenging us to be better than we are. And he is demonstrating a trust in the electorate on which he has staked his campaign.